Sweden was elected President of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities yesterday, with Hungary, Jamaica, Sierra Leone and Thailand serving in the Vice Presidents roles. The Conference elects every two years 9 of the 18 expert persons who serve on the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The next elections will take place during the Conference’s meeting in 2012.

H.E. Mr. Joseph Deiss, President of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, will hold his final press conference today at 11am. (Webcast: Channel 2) Mr. Deiss will be succeeded by Amb. Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser of Qatar, nominated as the sole candidate for the post by the Asian Group of States in February. Election of the Presidency of the General Assembly is one of the least merit-based processes in the UN system.

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee and the Fifth Committee will meet Friday morning to elect their Vice-Chairs and Rapporteurs for the upcoming session of the General Assembly session. The Second Committee will meet to do the same next Thursday, 15 September, and the Third Committee the following day.

About Tony Fleming

Tony is a communications and advocacy professional with over 15 years experience in United Nations reform advocacy. He began blogging about multilateral elections in 2006 at UNSG.org. He and his wife currently live in Panajachel, Guatemala. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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